[[quoteright:284:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/world_events_productions_4966.jpg]]

[[https://wep.com/ World Events Productions]] is a U.S. animation and distribution company founded in 1980.

Most famous for localizing the Creator/ToeiAnimation series ''Anime/GoLion'' to the United States back in the 80s, which became ''Anime/{{Voltron}}: Defender of the Universe''. ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' then went on to become a major pop culture icon, especially since it was the only {{mecha}} show on U.S. television (as opposed to being one of many back in Japan).

The company is based in UsefulNotes/StLouis, Missouri where it's owned by the Koplar family, the previous and founding owners of KPLR-TV, now the St. Louis [[Creator/TheCW CW]] affiliate. Most of World Events' properties were licensed to [[Creator/DreamWorksAnimation [=DreamWorks=] Classics]], a unit of Creator/{{NBCUniversal}}.

Aside from WEP's website, they also have a separate website for [[https://www.voltron.com/ Voltron]].

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!!The company has produced the following:
* ''World Events'', a current events production, and the company's first production.
* ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' series
** "Lion Voltron" (from ''Beast King Anime/GoLion'')
*** ''The New Adventures of Anime/{{Voltron}}'', Twenty extra Voltron episodes made by Creator/ToeiAnimation specifically for WEP)
** "Vehicle Voltron" (from ''Anime/DairuggerXV'')
** ''WesternAnimation/VoltronTheThirdDimension'', a CG-Animated sequel to "Lion Voltron". It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing, but has garnered mixed reactions from fans.
** ''WesternAnimation/VoltronForce'', a joint production with Kickstar Productions and Classic Media.
** ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', a joint production with Creator/DreamWorksAnimation
* ''Anime/SaberRiderAndTheStarSheriffs'' (from ''Anime/SeiJuushiBismarck'')
* ''WesternAnimation/DenverTheLastDinosaur'' (an original production by WEP)
* ''WesternAnimation/VytorTheStarfireChampion'' (another original WEP production)
* ''WesternAnimation/WidgetTheWorldWatcher'' (yet another WEP original)
* ''Anime/GoLion'' (as the U.S. licensor)
* ''Anime/DairuggerXV'' (as the U.S. licensor)
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!!Tropes associated with World Events Productions include:
* ArtifactTitle: WEP's name was derived from their first television series of the same name, which was a documentary series relating to current events of the time. Although the studio rolled with the name throughout the 80's by claiming it was meant to represent their goal to create animated content that would be seen as "an event" by viewers.
* DescendedCreator: Co-founder Peter Keefe was the narrator for the studio's first TV series ''World Events''.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The above mentioned TV series was live-action and aimed for an adult audience with its topics of social-political events of the time.
* {{Frankenslation}}: ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' and ''Anime/SaberRiderAndTheStarSheriffs'' are notable examples of this; to the point where both are considered their own shows because of how different they are from their original cuts.
* LostEpisode: ''World Events'' appears to have been lost to time as trying to find any info on it beyond its synopsis will lead to dead-ends on the web.
* PopCultureUrbanLegends: In his [[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/arts/design/11keefe.html obituary]], it's claimed that Peter Keefe had served as a voice actor for Voltron. But since the article doesn't go into details regarding any specific roles or even the possible use of an alias, most fans tend to dismiss it.
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